Tarapacá Region

Much of the region was once part of Peru, having been annexed by Chile under the 1883 Treaty of Ancón at the close of the War of the Pacific. The region was important economically as a site of intense saltpeter mining, before synthetic nitrate manufacturing became possible. A number of abandoned mining towns can still be found in the region.

The present day Tarapacá Region was created in 2007 by subdividing the former Tarapacá Region under Law No. 20,175, which was signed by President Michelle Bachelet in Arica.

History

This region has been inhabited by various Indigenous populations, most notably the Chinchorro culture more than 10,000 years ago. It was later inhabited by nomadic groups of gatherers and fishers. At the time of the Inca invasion, the territory of the region was occupied by the Changos along the entire coastal area, the Aymara in the Andean highlands, and the Atacameños in the south, especially near the Loa River. The Inca invasion was successful, and the region was annexed to the Empire. After the Spanish conquest, the territory was administered by the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1824, when it passed from Spanish control to the Republic of Peru, remaining Peruvian territory until 1879, during the War of the Pacific.

Fray Antonio Rendón Sarmiento celebrated the first Mass on the feast day of Saint Lawrence in San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, a small village that today has fewer than 100 inhabitants and is located in the middle of the desert. With the independence of Peru in 1821, the region became part of the Department of Arequipa, later the Department of Moquegua in 1857, and finally achieved the status of the Department of Tarapacá in 1877.

During the War of the Pacific in 1879, the Chilean army invaded the Peruvian Department of Tarapacá, turning the area into the site of the main battles of the conflict. The beginning of the major engagements occurred with the Battle of Arica on 7 June 1880. After these battles, Chile took control of the territories and began a process of colonization.

The Treaty of Ancón (1884) established the permanent transfer of the Department of Tarapacá to Chile, as well as the temporary administration of the provinces of Arica and Tacna until a plebiscite could be held. This plebiscite never took place; instead, the Treaty of Lima (1929) was signed, returning Tacna to Peru and definitively ceding Arica to Chile. The treaty also stipulates that Chile may not transfer sovereignty over the region without prior consultation with Peru.

The exploitation of saltpeter (nitrate) enabled the development of the region. Pisagua and Iquique became major ports, and numerous nitrate offices were established. The economy flourished, and the nitrate boom generated substantial revenue for the Chilean state from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. However, most companies were owned by European and North American interests, and workers were subjected to a harsh and exploitative system. Several protests took place in which workers and their families demanded fair wages and dignified living conditions. The most significant protest occurred in 1907, when workers of various nationalities marched to the Santa María School to pressure local authorities to support their cause; they were ultimately killed by military units in the Santa María School massacre of Iquique (1907). The boom ended in the mid-1920s with the creation of synthetic nitrate, leading to economic collapse in the region, famine, and the closure of thousands of small settlements scattered across the desert.

In mid-2005, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter near the town of Camiña, devastated small inland villages.

The existence of two major cities competing for regional leadership led to a long-standing rivalry between Arica and Iquique. This situation resulted in the creation of the Arica and Parinacota Region, which comprises the provinces of Arica and Parinacota, while the former province of Iquique was divided into two. Law No. 20,175 was promulgated on 23 March 2007 by President Michelle Bachelet in the city of Arica and came into force on 8 October 2007. On 9 October, during a ceremony held at the former nitrate office Santiago Humberstone, the Province of Tamarugal officially came into effect.